Colin Turkington: “There’s nothing like winning!”

A delighted Colin Turkington said there was “nothing like winning” after following up the first pole position for the Subaru Levorg with a dominant lights-to-flag victory in the first race at Oulton Park.

Team BMR’s Turkington led home West Surrey Racing’s Sam Tordoff by just under 2.5 seconds, and was never seriously threatened by his old BMW machine at any stage.

The Norther Irishman was quick to praise the work of his team to give him a car to win with, after three meetings where the Levorg hasn’t threatened the front runners.

“It’s a fantastic feeling – there’s nothing like winning. I gave myself the best chance but we still went into that race not sure what you’ve got or how good the car will be over a long run”, said Turkington to TouringCarTimes.

“We’ve never run at the front, or in conditions like these with the soft tyres. I’m just delighted for the team – it’s good for me, but the guys have put in so much work and got nothing back. To get two podiums after race one is a great reward.

“I think we’ve found the sweet spot now and the whole package is moving forward. I really enjoyed it and felt comfortable out there. I was in a groove. I could just do my thing. You don’t often get them as easy as that!”

Looking ahead to race two, Turkington will be on the medium tyre but will be carrying the full 75kg of success ballast for the first time.

Assessing his chances, he added: “It’s not going to be easy. We’ve not had that kind of weight on the car before, as we’ve not run with any weight on the car. The good thing is we’re starting with a balanced car, and we will do the best we can.”